A week before my 21 day food reboot began, I received a very exciting call from my friend who said “we found your healing!” You see, I suffer from Ankylosing Spondylitis (Video) (AS) since 2003 and it has been a struggle to live life with pain. After doing in-depth research, I found out that starches in my diet are causing the issue (great explanation on this). Then God blessed me with a nutritionist who is going through an intense reboot of her own. After meeting 8 straight hours with her, we started the 21 Day Food Reboot program.
Why Did We Start the 21 Day Food Reboot?
Looking at the list of starchy foods (source 1 | 2), notice that the vegetables and fruits typically have the lowest starch. And for years, people have been cured of all their disease through food (watch “Food Matters” or “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” on Netflix). The food reboot is a transitioning system that takes you from your current diet to a 100% raw food vegan diet. Why so extreme? In essence, that’s what a reboot is – starting over. After the reboot, I created a 6-month sustainable plan for my lifestyle. Below are my experiences, recipes, and new information I learned during the process.
- Day 1: The start of my journey began with a pulled neck, but little inflammation. Smoothie in the morning, salad for lunch, and dinner was cooked. I also found a local USDA Organic farmer (Lyoni Organic Farm) 5 miles away from where I live.
- Day 2: Effectiveness of a heating pack on the neck, starting to question too many bananas on diet, and the salad I get at Bajio Mexican restaurant.
- Day 3: Banana-mango-strawberry smoothie, heating up soup (I don’t like cold soup), Panera Bread salad, difficulty assimilating strawberries, and cannelloni beans gas issue.
- Day 4: Local Farmer’s Market in Naples, peach-mango smoothie, & Bajio’s Pineapple Shrimp Salad and testing yams in my diet.
- Day 5: Testing my body by ballroom dancing, trying Cheeze (not cheese), and Ahi Tuna cooked meal. Gas / bloating issues at it’s hardest.
- Day 6: Mango Goji Berry-Chocolate Green Smoothie, eggs & salad, and using Metamucil instead of Konsyl for gas / bloating issues.
- Day 7: Blueberry-Banana Smoothie Recipe (great taste), Cooked + Raw Tomato & Balsamic Salad, & Salmon with Broccoli & Asparagus (Watermark Grill). Took Enbrel & testing the Metamucil for the 2nd day.
- Day 8: Banana Smoothie Recipe, Wraps with a Black Sapote, Replaced Metamucil with Organic India’s Fiber Harmony Orange Flavor, Neck Issue Resolved, & the Good Belly Crisis
- Day 9: Fish with Mexican Salad (Tijuana Flats), Tomato Soup (Cold) + Kale / Avocado Salad, temporary resolution for Good Belly & Inflammation going down due to fiber supplement switch
- Day 10: Chinese Buffet – the landmine of starches, Nutty Mixed-Up Salad (Jason’s Deli), and the Denny Roll shooting pain issue is at it’s worst.
- Day 11: Fennel seeds (relieves gas & gives you good breath) & black currant (helps hair). Frozen Banana, Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Smoothie, Sushi Rolls with Tomato Soup, & Chicken Salad.
- Day 12: Whole Foods & Good Belly, list of Venice (FL), natural food stores, Banana, Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Smoothie Recipe and foods I found at Earth Origins Food Market
- Day 13: Last day for chiropractor, NSD version of hummus, Banana, Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Smoothie Recipe, Salad & Tomato Soup with Broccoli, Stuffed Red Peppers – a raw food day.
- Day 14: Banana, Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Smoothie Recipe, bought food for week 3 and dinner from Whole Foods
- Day 15: Banana, Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Smoothie Recipe, Fantastic Collard Wrap & Vitamin B12 spray
- Day 16: Lots of rest, the beginning of too much food, green smoothies, and fruit salads, large BMs begin
- Day 17: Mango ripeness, more energy + testing it at ballroom dancing, and coming to the conclusion of an unsustainable life with this much food.
- Day 18: Moving day to Venice, continuation of good energy, salads at Panera Bread & making my own Kale salad.
- Day 19: Enormous amounts of food, temptations at the Super Bowl party, started taking vitamin B12 spray, possible coconut water flare-up, smoothies, collard wraps and salads.
- Day 20: My hardest day (pains, inflammation, bloating, too much food), Dr. Furhman recommending Vitamin D3 & amounts of Probiotics, smoothies and fruit salad.
- Day 21: Took Enbrel & an Advil to curb the shooting pain & inflammation, smoothies and Avocado-Lime Soup
The Results – Pros
- Lost almost 14 pounds sine June of 2011. Most of these pounds came off during the reboot.
- BMI went from 22.07 to 20.12
- Inflammation localized to right hip & buttocks / sacroilliatic joint area. Those results only happened during the beginning stages of my Ankylosing Spondylitis (2003 – 2006)
Lost 13.9 Pounds Since 6/27/2011
BMI on 2/8/12 is 20.12
BMI Results 6/27/2011
The Results – Cons
- Earlier on in the reboot, I had excessive gas, bloating and diarrhea. Getting the right fiber supplement at the start is crucial.
- Constantly creating meals all day & blogging requires a lot of time – especially week 3. I suggest you detox during a time that you won’t be as busy.
- Finding dietary helpers and doing research also takes up a lot of time.
- The portions of the smoothies (and some other foods) in week 3 were too large for me. I suggest you make 1/2 of what they say & then add on food if you’re still hungry. Don’t forget your caloric intake for the day (Calculate BMR X Lifestyle).
What About Calories? Where’s the Protein? What Else Do I Need to Know?
The main source of our 21-day food reboot came from the “Thriving on Raw Foods – a 21-Day Transition Plan” program. I suggest you read more about it there and make the purchase if you decide you want to try this out yourself.
Day 22 and Beyond (read more) – Create a sustainable lifestyle with my new health plan.